CHAPTER 24

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards reviewing legal concepts, terminology, and figures from UCC Article 2/2A warranties and Strict Product Liability in Torts under the Restatement (Second) and Restatement (Third) of Torts.

Warranty

Under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a duty created on the part of the seller that the goods she sells will conform to certain qualities, characteristics, or conditions.

Purchaser

Under UCC Article 1-201(b)(30), a person who takes by sale, lease, lien, security interest, gift, or any other voluntary transaction creating an interest in property.

Warranty of Title

An obligation of a seller implicitly warranting that the title conveyed is good, its transfer is rightful, and the goods have no security interest or lien of which the buyer was unaware at the time of purchase.

Lien

A claim on property by another person or entity for payment of a debt.

Warranty Against Infringement

An additional warranty made by a merchant seller promising that goods regularly dealt in shall be delivered free of the rightful claim of any third person for patent, trademark, or trade secret infringement.

Express Warranty

An explicit undertaking by the seller regarding the quality, description, condition, or functionality of goods, formed by an affirmation of fact, promise, description, sample, or model that becomes part of the basis of the bargain.

Puffery

Sales talk, expressions of value, or seller opinions that do not create an express warranty because they are not factual statements and do not deceive ordinary buyers.

Sample

A good actually drawn directly from the bulk of goods that comprise the subject matter of a sale.

Model

A unit offered for inspection when the subject matter of the sale is not at hand, which is not drawn from the bulk.

Implied Warranty

An obligation imposed by operation of law upon the transfer of property or contract rights, arising out of the circumstances under which the parties enter into their contract rather than explicit language.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability

An implied warranty by a merchant seller that goods are reasonably fit for the ordinary purposes for which they are used, pass without objection in the trade under contract description, and are of fair, average quality.

Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose

An implied warranty arising when any seller has reason to know the buyer's specific purpose and that the buyer is relying on the seller's skill and judgment to select suitable goods.

Disclaimer

A negation, exclusion, or modification of a warranty that must be positive, explicit, unequivocal, and conspicuous to be effective.

Conspicuous

A term so written, displayed, or presented that a reasonable person against whom it is to operate ought to have noticed it, as determined by the court.

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

A federal law administered by the FTC to protect purchasers of consumer goods by requiring clear warranty information and prohibiting sellers who make written warranties from disclaiming implied warranties.

Privity of Contract

The direct contractual relationship between a plaintiff and a defendant required at common law to maintain a lawsuit.

Horizontal Privity

A doctrine determining which noncontracting parties (such as family members, household guests, or bystanders) benefit from a warranty and may sue for its breach.

Alternative A of UCC Section 2-318

The most widely adopted horizontal privity option, extending express or implied warranty protection to natural persons in the buyer's family or household or guests in the home who suffer personal injury.

Vertical Privity

A doctrine determining which remote sellers in the distribution chain (such as manufacturers or wholesalers) with whom the consumer purchaser has not contracted are liable for breach of warranty.

Notice of Breach

The requirement that a buyer notify the seller of a warranty breach within a reasonable time after discovery, failing which the buyer is barred from any remedy against the seller.

Strict Liability in Tort (§402A)

Tort liability imposed under Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts on merchant sellers for physical harm or property damage caused by selling a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous, regardless of seller care.

Economic Loss Doctrine

The majority rule holding that Section 402A strict liability covers personal injury and property damage, but not commercial losses such as loss of bargain or lost profits.

Manufacturing Defect

A defect occurring when a product fails to meet its own manufacturing specifications or departs from its intended design, even though all possible care was exercised.

Design Defect

A product defect occurring when the product, despite being produced as specified, poses foreseeable risks of harm that could have been reduced or avoided by adopting a reasonable alternative design.

Failure to Warn

A defect arising from the failure to provide adequate warnings of possible danger or appropriate instructions for safe use when there is a foreseeable risk of physical harm.

State of the Art Defense

A defense showing that given existing technology, the manufacturer neither knew nor could have known of a product hazard, or could not have designed a safer product when produced.

Unreasonably Dangerous

A condition in a product containing a danger beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer purchasing it with common knowledge of its characteristics.

Contributory Negligence

Conduct by the plaintiff falling below the self-protection standard that legally causes harm; it is rejected as a defense under Section 402A strict liability.

Comparative Negligence

A doctrine that apportions damages between parties in proportion to their degree of fault, applied by many states to strict product liability actions.

Assumption of Risk

A defense requiring proof that the plaintiff actually knew and appreciated a specific danger, voluntarily encountered it, and made an unreasonable decision to do so.

Misuse or Abuse of the Product

Use of a product in an unintended manner not contemplated by the seller, serving as a defense only if the misuse was not reasonably foreseeable by the seller.

Statute of Repose

A law setting a strict time limit (typically 6 to 12 years from sale) after which a manufacturer is no longer liable for harm caused by a defective product.

Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability

A modern standard superseding Section 402A that explicitly divides product defects into manufacturing, design, and warning defects, applying strict liability only to manufacturing defects.

UCC Warranty Types and Disclaimers Summary Matrix

A summary diagram outlining the creation, scope, and disclaimer rules for Title, Express, Merchantability, and Fitness for a Particular Purpose warranties.

Merchantability vs. Strict Liability Comparison Matrix

A comparative table analyzing differences between the UCC implied warranty of merchantability and strict liability in tort across legal standards, disclaimers, notice, causation, standing, and recoverable harms.